Sojourn with a Samurai
<'Decepticon'> Airlift says, "This is Airlift..I have been unable due to duties to participate in the assaults recently, and need a sparring partner to maintain my skills.." <'Decepticon'> Outrider says, "OH OH OH I'LL HELP SIR!" <'Decepticon'> Outrider waves her hand audibly. <'Decepticon'> Outrider nngggh straining so hard to get picked waving arm!! Outrider arrives from the Atrium - Darkmount. Outrider has arrived. <'Decepticon'> Airlift says, "Err..yes, well, as you wish..attend me in the Darkmount Simulator Outrider.." <'Decepticon'> Outrider says, "Woo hoo! LIVIN' THE DREAM!" When Outrider arrives in the training room, the view that she'll be greated by is Airlift, wings flared open and scythe in hand, dueling with the drone..he doesn't seem to be straining himself, and indeed, seems almost bored by the drones predictable motions. A sparring partner is definitely a must for a real experience. Outrider is taken aback by the sight in front of her. What a sight! It's really a Reaver, in person, with all their cool flying and arms and scythe thingie! She has to stop and stare for a moment with a mix of complete awe and not just a little fear. I mean, this guy can kill you, and she is very killable. Nevertheless, duty calls and she's happy to do it. "Private Outrider reporting for duty, SIR!" she snaps off with a salute so crisp Vlassic is trying to put it in their pickles. The drone signals the approach as it backs away, leaving Airlift to turn around and face his newest not-gumby.. The medic slowly eyes Outrider, letting her stand at attention as he does. He himself stands in a loose, comfortable stance, his scyth is held parallel to the ground, the crackling energy blade tip so close to the floor that little sparks arch between the two, his lower set of hands holding the scythe. A plasma cannon on his upper right arm is smoking still from having blasted the drone, and he gives a wave of his hand with it after a moment. "At ease Outrider..you'll find that I'm not as formal as other division commanders.." he says as he looks her over again. "Have you been briefed on your new duties and responsibilities yet?" he inquires as he motions her on in, towards the center of the training room. Outrider fairly skips towards the center of the training room humming a happy little Decepticon hymn (is there such a thing?). She stops where directed and clasps her hands in front of her, bright and cheerful. "No sir, I don't believe I have. I just got here from the mass production barracks. Also sir I'm happy to show you the respect you clearly deserve!" Oh dear..one of those. "Show respect by following my instructions then, and relax the formality.." he says in a cheerful tone, actually smiling to the femme. "As to your new duties, you will follow pretty much the same duties as before, only now you will be authorized to deploy to the field without a direct supervisor. I would prefer you to not go adventuring by yourself until you're more used to it though. In addition, you will now have authority to instruct the more..drone-like..medical personnel. They always benefit greatly from instruction.." He moves into the room and away from Outrider, putting distance between them and dropping into an en guard stance before saying, "Now..show me your skill in battle..and hold nothing back." Combat: Airlift sets his defense level to Guarded. "Yes sir I will be more informal s--uh... dude!" Outrider replies. She unholsters a gauss rifle from her back, and looks it it. "You know, I was issued one of these things but no one ever really showed me how to use it; we were kind of just made really fast and then given weapons and told to stand in a line so.. uhhh..." She turns it over in her hands. "I *think* this the trigger...?" She pulls it. She may not even have it facing the right direction. Combat: Outrider misses Airlift with her Guass Rifle attack! -2 Outrider misses you with her Ranged/2 attack. You are now at 72 endurance. POP! The bullet goes flying off to the side of Airlift. "Ooo! Wow's loud," she comments. There's a moment where Airlift is just staring at Outrider..then he actually brings his hand up and facepalms. "This is going to take a long time.." he muses quietly. Then he moves over to Outrider.. "Look.." he says, taking the rifle out of her hands and showing her how to hold it, "the targetting scope is here..but after a while you'll get used to it and not need the scope as much for most shots, it's a matter of servo memory.." he explains, demonstrating the use of the weapon. He turns towards the drone and snaps off a shot with it as example, before handing it back to Outrider.. "Now..you try it.." Combat: Airlift strikes Training Drone - Darkmount with his Gauss Rifle attack! -4 Training Drone - Darkmount says, "6 points of damage." Combat: Training Drone - Darkmount misses Airlift with its Laser attack! Outrider pays rapt attention to Airlift's instructions, watching him expertly target the drone. As soon as the gun is back in her hands, she's shocked that the drone returned fire - and missed - Airlift. Her optics brighten. "THAT DRONE IS A DIRTY AUTOBOT TERRORIST PLANT! I'LL GET IT!" She runs up to it and, rather than shoot the gun, attempts to bludgeon the drone with it. Combat: Outrider strikes Training Drone - Darkmount with her You Scummy Criminal Scum You (Kick) attack! Training Drone - Darkmount says, "3 points of damage." Combat: Training Drone - Darkmount strikes Outrider with its Electro-Sword attack! Airlift watches in silence, and watches the drone in response to the attack upon it slice out at Outrider with that sword, "Not a bad hit..but if you're going to get in close, you have to make sure that you get back out of the way quickly. As a medic, most warriors will have more servo-strength than you do, so it's important not to be caught in close, even if it means you miss your own attack.." He suddenly rockets away from her, ducking in under the Drone's sword guard to try and deliver a kick to it, not stopping his motion as he uses the momentum to follow through and roll away from the drone, coming up to stand on the other side and dance back farther. Combat: Airlift strikes Training Drone - Darkmount with his Airlift doing combat training..oh dear (Kick) attack! Training Drone - Darkmount says, "6 points of damage." Combat: Training Drone - Darkmount misses Airlift with its Kick attack! "ow my robo-clavicle!" Outrider complains, getting slashed across the front. She looks at the weapon damage for a moment. "The sword is in need of honing, look at the ragged edges of this cut. It's not clean at all and it's lacking in penetrative depth - and the generator on the weapon is running hot, it's not producing enough of a charge to transfer a shock past the outer layers of the mesh," she deduces, picking at it. "Ow," she says again, because she's picking at it. She nods and scoots back from the drone, considering the advice. "I'm a pretty basic model, I mean, I'm not really *made* to fight back, just sort of not die as fast as, y'know, a seeker or something." You can practically see the sparkles around her as she watches Airlift in motion. "You're amazing, sirrrrdude!" Right, don't be formal. "I could watch you do that all day!" Maybe she would too. Standing back up, she walks over to pick up her gun. "OKAY! Now I will shoot you until you die from it!" she shouts at the drone, attempting to follow through on the previous advice about how to handle a gun. Combat: Outrider's Guass Rifle attack aimed for Training Drone - Darkmount backfires! Combat: Outrider strikes herself with her Guass Rifle attack! Unfortunately she's not holding it right, and when the gun goes off it's strong enough that the kickback from the weapon knocks her right off her feet and she goes skidding across the floor. Watching Outrider go skidding across the floor from the kick of her own primary weapon is..almost painful. Airlift shakes his head, "You're holding it wrong and your stance is terrible..look.." He assumes a proper shooting stance, one foot forward and pointed at the drone, the other back and perpindicular. "This way the force of the weapon rocks back against your rear leg.. There are some of us strong enough to not bother with a proper firing stance, but you're new and I want you to do it by the books until you learn your limitations.." he instructs. He goes over and reaches down to help the femme up, "It's unlikely you will ever qualify as a warrior Outrider..thankfully as MSE you won't have to. But still..don't let Galvatron see you falling down from shooting your weapon..it could be bad." Outrider gasps. Let down Galvatron? The very thought makes her want to burst into unthemely tears. "I'll keep practicing every day, I swear!" she announces, raising her tiny fist to the heavens and staring upwards. "I SWEAR I WILL BE ABLE TO FIRE MY OWN WEAPON! COOOOOOOON!" Airlift watches Outrider's lip tremble and sighs.. "Don't stress over it, just do your best and he'll be..well..honestly he's never happy with anything. Best you can hope for is not getting cannoned for looking foolish.." he pats her on the shoulder. "Now..give yourself some space to work with, and try to hit me.." he says encouragingly.. Combat: Airlift sets his defense level to Fearless. "But it would be a privilege to be cannoned!" Outrider explains. "I mean, that way I can truly give my life to Lord Galvatron and not have it taken by some icky dirty disgusting Autobot!" Primus where did they get this one. She assumes the stance demonstrated to her, bringing up her gun, and tries her level best to hit Airlift. -- But it's so hard to do that, I mean, he's Airlift, and his design is perfection itself! Let's hope she can bring herself to marr that perfect finish. Combat: Outrider sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Outrider strikes Airlift with her Guass Rifle attack! Outrider bites her lip. "I'm sorry I hit you sir!" The shot impacts Airlift on his upper left shoulder, ricocheting off and leaving a sizeable dent in his armor. At least that's what the simulation shows. In fact he's undamaged entirely..but the simulation tricks his systems accordingly. His shoulder rocked slightly from the impact, but he didn't stagger backwards, "Don't apologize! You did exactly what you were supposed to, that was an excellent shot. I want to see you practice that exact stance against the drone.." he instructs Bludgeon has arrived. Airlift is currently attempting to instruct young Outrider, newly graduated from the gumby corps and into MSE, in how to be vaguely useful in battle. It doesn't seem to be going too well so far..though the smoking dent on Airlift's shoulder does show some promise of improvement. Outrider nods the affirmative. "Okay. I'll do my best!" She takes out the guass (OOC: whoops, need to poke charstaff) rifle, trying to target the drone again. "I will just imagine you are the face of dirty stinky Egomaniac Prime," she mutters. Grrrr. Fierce. Combat: Outrider strikes Training Drone - Darkmount with her Guass Rifle attack! Training Drone - Darkmount says, "7 points of damage." Combat: Training Drone - Darkmount misses Outrider with its Kick attack! "HA HA! I SHOT YOU IN THE FACE OH SCRAP--!" Outrider throws herself to the ground to avoid the kick. The Decepticon Bludgeon walks slowly into the training room, without his pretender shell. His trueform, notably smaller than the giant samurai, is purely cybertronian in design though there are obvious samurai-inspirations in his armor and form. Having previously heard Airlift's broadcast on channel earlier, he's come to see if the Unicronian medic requires any 'special' attention. "Greetings, Airlift." He says politely. If Bludgeon is anything, he is polite to the medics that keep himself and the rest of the Decepticon warriors fully healed and combat ready. A little training to thank them is easily accomplished. The other person in the simulator, however, is not someone that the samurai recognizes. He places his right fist into his left palm, inclining his head to both of them in greeting. As for Airlift, he's far less formal than Bludgeon, and turns back to see the Pretender sans shell, nodding politely. "Bludgeon..I trust all is well?" he asks politely before glancing back as Outrider dives to the ground to dodge the kick. He lets out a little sigh and shakes his head, "Bludgeon, this is Outrider..she's just been promoted to Private. Outrider, this is Lieutenant Bludgeon of the Infantry division, one of the Empire's most skilled swordsmen.." he says by way of introductions. "Outrider is joining MSE officially from this point on.." Bludgeon nods respectfully to Airlift, then looks to the new recruit. He walks slowly forward, footfalls echoing gently in the large chamber, and studies Outrider carefully. After a pause, "Welcome, Outrider." As usual, Bludgeon's face is devoid of expression, a skull-like faceplate that eerily resembles his pretender shell, except that it lacks any sort of mouth. "I trust you are finding your promotion well. I am sure you will perform your duties adequately. The faction has a way of weeding out those who fail to do so." Then, back to Airlift, placing his hands behind his back. "I heard that you were seeking to keep your combat skills up. If Outrider is sufficient to hone your edge, I would be more than happy to offer my services as a training partner. It is the least I can do for someone who works so diligently keeping us in optimal fighting condition." He inclines his head again. Outrider's eyes get absolutely huge. She leaps to her feet, weapon clattering to the ground and popping off an inintended shot. She's practically overventilating. "I am honored to be in your very presence Bludgeon sir if there is anything I can do for you just let me know sirr!!" She salutes again and remains at attention. Yeah, you're never gonna get her to relax on that, Airlift. Airlift looks over at Outrider then shrugs to Bludgeon, "Her driveshaft is wound just a bit tight still..she'll relax eventually.. I hope.." he says of the green femme. Punching a command in on his training relay he resets himself to full health and walks a short distance away from Bludgeon, pulling his scythe back out of subspace and smiling. "As to your offer, I would be pleased to accept. I have been sparring primarily with Blast Off for a while now, so have been missing the chance to fight against a skilled melee combatant.." he says as he flexes his wings and arms, all of them. He then drops into a guarded stance and extends a hand, making a 'come on' motion with it, allowing Bludgeon the first move. Combat: Airlift sets his defense level to Guarded. Bludgeon pauses, looking at Outrider curiously, his softly glowing optics narrowing slightly. For a brief moment, the air pressure drops. Plunges. Cold instantly permeates the area. /Is she mocking me?/ The samurai muses, unsure of how to process her reactions and speech pattern. Reality diverges. In another universe, Bludgeon draws his blade in a hyperaccelerated blur of motion, decapitating the newbie in a single stroke. In this universe, however, he relaxes, and the air pressure and temperature instantly return to normal. He decides she couldn't possibly be foolish enough to be mocking him. Clearly this Outrider is.. simply a bit odd. Bludgeon turns back to Airlift. "Good!" He clasps his hands together. "I'll be honest. I'm looking forward to helping you. You have always seemed a bit of an.. enigma. There is a balance to everything. You, whose body was obviously created to be a weapon of destruction, yet you choose instead to focus the majority of your time helping others. A selfless occupation, and often a thankless one." He takes a step closer to Airlift and seems to step through a shadow dramatically, his voice deepening. "If only you focused yourself instead to the Art of War, I have no doubt you would excel. Embrace the gift that the destroyer bestowed upon you, wielding that scythe and carving a swath through the bodies of your enemies with unparalleled skill and power." Then Bludgeon takes a step back, hands slipping back behind his back and his voice becoming more cheery, if such a thing is possible. "But for now, let us simply keep your edges honed. Whenever you are ready." Outrider picks up her weapon and scoots out of the way, completely oblivious to anything happening in another universe to an alternate self, who probably would have been overjoyed to be killed by Bludgeon anyways. She takes up a position at the wall of the training facility, her training sequence resetting. "... I can't believe I am going to watch this. I think I'm going to faint!..." she murmurs, wide eyed, hands pressed to her cheeks. <'Decepticon'> Outrider says, "... This is the best day of my life." There's a small smile from Airlift, "Very few know the truth of who I am Bludgeon..and that is by intent. Indeed, I do spend much of my time working to heal others, but mistake that not for lack of ambition or killer instinct.." His stance is such that his lower left hand is extended slightly forward, his lower right hand holding his scythe down and back. The upper left hand grips near the butt of the scythe staff, while the upper right is at ready to move. "Indeed, I'm not sure if you have even heard the story of how I came to be.." he muses quietly. Then in a sudden burst of motion, Airlift is launching across the floor, his feet skimming above it, wings flaring open to their full as he streaks towards Bludgeon. His combat visor snaps down into place, replacing the soft purple glow of his optics with an angry red glare that covers the upper half of his face. The upper left hand releases the scythe, allowing it to slide downward in his grip, and as he reaches Bludgeon the upper right hand catches the butt of the scythe and he snaps the thing suddenly up in a slicing motion, rather than swinging it in wide as his stance had suggested, the four arms giving shockingly different movements than what most would be familiar with from such a weapon. "I was reborn as STYX!" he cries as he attacks. Combat: Airlift sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Airlift strikes Bludgeon with his Energy Scythe attack! -1 Combat: Secondary Damage! Bludgeon instinctively takes a step back, raising both arms in an X-formation to absorb the incoming attack. Airlift's heavy scythe slams into him, sending fragments of armor showering into the air from the force of the blow. His first attack does not disappoint Bludgeon, but only bolsters his faith further. "The past is dead." He says, his voice strained as he momentarily vies against Airlift, scythe locked against his arms. "You were given strength and power, but were also freed. Freed to find your own path. To make your own decisions. To carve your name into the universe however you see fit." Finally, Bludgeon pushes off, shoving both combatatants apart. "I know only fragments of your story, but it sounds like a story full of despair yet also triumph and hope." The samurai cracks his neck to one side, glancing at the damage to his forearm armor, then darts forward. He moves in a blur of motion, lunging towards the reaper to strike, an afterimage cast in his wake from the sheer speed of his assault. Both images, one after the other, cascade into Airlift's personal space. Combat: Bludgeon strikes Airlift with his Afterimage Strike (Punch) attack! Airlift has trouble tracking the motions as Bludgeon seems to blur into two places at once, and he can't tell which way to dodge, Bludgeon's fist connecting with his hardened Unicronian armor. Punching him will tell Bludgeon quite a bit most likely, about the Unicronian's physical capabilities. His smooth Unicronian curves are plated with Unicronian metal, and despite his obvious agility, punching him is almost exactly like slamming one's fist into the side of a tank. The punch leaves a mark where it connects, and indeed the force of it is enough to cause some internal fracturing beneath the armor, but the armor itself does not break, nor does Airlift stagger. Moreover, the four armed Reaver is uniquely equipped, and his hands are in motion even before Bludgeon's attack strikes him. To the one side, his scythe is attempting to block, held in one hand while the other swipes a clawed rake up. To the other, one hand attempted to block the real strike, which slipped past, but the other hand is narrowed to a point and drives back towards Bludgeon in response, sharp talons leading the way. The exchange is so quick that the only witty banter he manages to fire off is, "Quick one aren't you.." Combat: Airlift strikes Bludgeon with his it's not jujitsu..it's sweep fu (Punch) attack! Bludgeon angles himself so that his heavy shoulder armor takes the brunt of the attack, Airlift's talon sending a shower of sparks into the air as they rake against him. The reaper's armor has not gone unnoticed. To someone trained in Metallikato, he understands exactly what he's up against the moment his fist connected. The samurai unleashes a series of high speed punches, though none of them are truly aimed to strike but to test Airlift's dodging and blocking ability, checking his patterns and technique. "Four arms." He says between attacks, keeping Airlift pressured so he can do little but immediately defend for the moment. "I must admit, I am intrigued with the idea of having four arms to strike with. Alas, I must only make due with two." As soon as the last word escapes him, the samurai surges forward for the true strike. His right hand, open palm, aiming directly at the reaper's center, where his armor is heaviest. To anyone else, an ineffective technique, but to Bludgeon.. Combat: Bludgeon sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Bludgeon strikes Airlift with his Fracture Point attack! -2 Combat: Bludgeon's attack damages your armor. What's worse about it is that, while Airlift doesn't have the sort of training that Bludgeon does, he's a gifted medic and knows precisely the pressure tolerances and fracture resistances of his armor. He sees the blow coming and knows exactly what it's going to do, there's simply nothing he can do to stop it. He does what he can to mitigate the damage, but he's simply not fast enough to dodge the expertly timed blow, and he knows it. At the last moment, he shifts his stance slightly, abandoning his attempt to block the incoming blow and instead taking the full force of it but dissipating it somewhat by letting the momentum transfer to his own form. A spiderweb of crackes has blossomed across his chest now, his spacecraft mode cockpit canopy shattered in the process. The blow carries him back farther than it should, aided by his giving himself to the attack, and he rolls backwards into a flip, snapping his feet up as he does to try and kick Bludgeon before finishing the flip a bit farther away from the Pretender. His combat visor has full readouts on the damage scrolling across his view as he lands and smirks, "Identify strengths and target them..I should have pressed the attack more before you could impair my armor.." he muses as indeed he seems to have adopted a much more defensive stance now. Combat: Airlift sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Airlift strikes Bludgeon with his flash kick (Kick) attack! Combat: Critical Hit! "I bet you don't envy the Autobot medics for their repair jobs after I'm done with their soldiers, eh?" Bludgeon's idea of a joke? He must be enjoying himself. If he had a mouth to smile with, he would be. The only hint of his emotion is the slightly higher pitch to his voice. Combat always brings out Bludgeon's excitement, especially when he's training with Decepticons, hoping to awaken even greater powers within them. No sooner does he say his little joke then Airlift expertly takes advantage of the samurai letting his guard down and connect with a fierce kick that knocks him sideways, head over heels. Bludgeon rolls off to one side, riding the momentum of Airlift's kick, straight towards Outrider. He heavy boots slam into the ground, skidding to a stop directly in front of her where he casts his softly glowing optics at her and simply asks, "Madame? I can't help but notice your nicely armored boots. So much better to use than your more delicate hands." Without warning, he takes her hand and 'taps' her behind the knee lightly with one boot, literally sweeping her off her feet. He spins back towards Airlift, flipping Outrider through the air as though she were a giant set of nunchuckus, swinging her so her legs lash out towards the sweep. He swings her full circle then flips her back onto her feet, standing her back upright before dashing off again. Combat: Bludgeon strikes Airlift with his Outrider Nunchuckus attack! -2 Outrider just doesn't even KNOW. How did that - how did he -?! She's suddenly off her feet and being used as an improvised weapon. That is beyond cool. Not only is she helping, which just makes her little spark swell with pride, but BLUDGEON IS USING HER AS A WEAPON!!! Check one off the bucket list. Staggering back a second out of pure surprise, she reaches down to touch her boots. "I.... I'm never repainting these again." In all truth, Airlift just stands and takes the hit. He's too dumbfounded by what he's just seen to do otherwise..even as he's bouncing backwards from the connection of the Outriderchukus to his shoulder, he is asking, "Did you just hit me with my new peon!?" in a shocked and amazed tone. He is sliding across the ground as he asks, and drives one clawed hand down, arresting his momentum before pushing up off of the ground, and into the air he goes. All Decepticons can fly, sure, but for Airlift the sky is like the ground, and he's as home in the air as upon the surface. Those wings of his add maneuverability and he is upright and looking down upon Bludgeon in just a moment's passing. "I have to admit, I did not expect that.." he says in an amused tone, glancing to his now bent shoulderplate..he takes his scythe and shifts his stance, obviously meaning to press the attack with his blade once again. "But I thought you were a swordsman Bludgeon..draw your weapons and let us truly test our mettle.." he says, delaying his assualt long enough to give Bludgeon time to do so before he launches down. Feet touch the ground short of Bludgeon's position, and he kicks off, fighting with the scythe much as one would use a staff, taking advantage of the weightless energy blade, stabbing and sweeping it before at last he drives it past Bludgeon and then rolls his hands, shifting the position of the blade before yanking it back towards himself to try and catch Bludgeon's back with it. Combat: Airlift sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Airlift strikes Bludgeon with his Energy Scythe Rammmpage attack! Combat: Secondary Damage! Bludgeon is struck by Airlift's scythe again, the samurai uses his arms and body to take the blows where he's more heavily armored, but the blows clearly strike home. The last one, from behind, sends him reeling forward, yet he seems alright with it. Most would probably be enraged, but Bludgeon is in training mode, and the stronger Airlift fights, the happier he is. Yet one thing seems out of place. "With all due respect, you don't seem all that out of practice." The samurai replies, his voice calm even in the heat of battle. "Perhaps it's not your performance that needs help, but your faith? No matter how sharp the sword, it is the confidence and faith in oneself that tempers the blade into a true weapon. Not to the point of arrogance, of course. Arrogance will make even the greatest blade brittle." Indeed, Airlift is succeeding in inflicting quite a bit of damage to the samurai. Granted, he's not within his pretender shell, but the sweep's advanced weapons and strength are clearly nothing to underestimate or scoff at. Still a short distance from Airlift, after being knocking back by the ferocity of his attack, Bludgeon inclines his head. "Your strength is clearly not lacking. But you are correct. What is a swordsman without a blade?" With one smooth, lightning fast motion, he draws his katana and slashes upwards with it. The air in front of him warps, the speed and power of his stroke creating an implosion of air, instantly releasing a vacuum shockwave straight towards Airlift. The wind slash tears across the simulator floor, ripping up the ground and sending fragments of the floor scattering in multiple directions as the attack hurtles towards the reaper, nearly invisible, merely a violent warping of the air signalling its approach. Combat: Bludgeon strikes Airlift with his Implosion Wave attack! Airlift has seen the attack before in watching reports from the front lines, but even so he can't get out of the way of that implosion wave, and it slams into him on his left side. Armor is cracked on both his arms and torso, but it is his wing that takes the majority of the damage, the blade of cascading vacuum and air ripping straight through his left wing and leaving a deep cut near where it connects to his form. It's enough to impair the wings movement, but not quite enough to impair Airlift's overall mobility..yet. "I thank you..that's rather the point of sparring, to avoid becoming out of practice. After all, most of my battles have been against injury and supply lines of late.." he says as looks at the sword in Bludgeon's hand. "I still have not quite determined just how it is you manage to create that vacuum shockwave with the blade..it's a mystery I'd like to unravel one day.." he muses as he considers his foe, circling and maintaining distance for a few moments. He's been relying heavily upon the scythe thus far.. He launches forward again, and as he goes it seems he intends to attack with the scythe again. Only when he reaches Bludgeon, he drops the weapon, letting it instantly shunt back into subspace as he starts to jab and swipe instead with his razortipped claws, trying to shred Bludgeon's armor while staying too close for his sword to come into as effective of play. It's fortunate that Bludgeon did not call him a sweep aloud, or likely the reaver would be doing something far, far worse. Combat: Airlift strikes Bludgeon with his claw frenzy evisceration (Kick) attack! Combat: Critical Hit! Bludgeon deflects the first few swipes of Airlift's claws. He makes a mental note to remember how dangerous they are after the first one tears across his armor, then a few others follow suit. A wide swing of his sword forces Airlift's frenzy to halt, buying him a moment to catch his breath. His armor is covered in cuts and cleaves, the occasional spark of damage visible in his shoulder. He holds the sword out, the tip of his katana pointing directly at Airlift. "You're good. Better than I expected, but you could be better. You have the power and the potential to be truly great, if you chose to direct your energies more fully to the path of destruction. I would be happy, and honored, to help you down that path should you ever seek it. Perhaps, in time, your own scythe might find its voice and its roar would strike out at distant enemies, as my own sword does." He refers to the vacuum slash technique he utilizes. The samurai spins, blade spinning in a low arc. It strikes the ground, sending a shower of debris towards Airlift, but it's only a distraction. The shell-less pretender lunges forward, striking in a blur of motion with his katana from within the shower of debris. Combat: Bludgeon strikes Airlift with his Quickstrike attack! -2 Combat: Secondary Damage! The sweep of the blade forces Airlift to dodge back, just as Bludgeon intended, and he shrugs at the invitation, "I have my duty to Lord Galvatron..it was he who pulled me from the enslavement of Unicron, and I will serve in whatever capacity that he pleases to set me in. Thus, I remain a medic.." he smiles, "though make no mistake that I mean to ever grow in power..Scourge will one day fall before me, as I have sworn.." he says. The moment of response though allows Bludgeon to strike him with that flying debris. The damage is insignificant for the most part, but it does crack his targetting visor, rendering it inoperative..the visor snaps up out of place and he adjusts his stance to compensate for it's loss. "Ah..I fear you have misunderstood.." he says as he dances back away from Bludgeon, taking to the skies as a massive fusion cannon materializes on his arm, replacing the plasma cannon that is usually there. As it spins up he explains, "I am curious as to the physics behind the technique from a scientific perspective..I have other weapons at my disposal to strike down my enemies from a distance.." he says as he levels the cannon and fires it, full yield, at Bludgeon. Combat: Airlift sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Booster Pack Energon Cascade Chamber is activated! It will use up a charge the next chance it gets! Combat: Airlift strikes Bludgeon with the Airlift-forged never underestimate a medic attack! Combat: Airlift uses up a charge on his Energon Cascade Chamber booster pack! Combat: Automatically deactivating booster pack Energon Cascade Chamber Combat: Airlift's attack leaves him temporarily incapacitated! Combat: Used up 1 Charges. 1 remain. Bludgeon wasn't expecting that level of magnitude to come from Airlift, and is easily enveloped by the beam. What little armor he has left is almost entirely vaporized, dropping the samurai to one knee. As far as honing Airlift's edge, Bludgeon has no doubt that the ex-sweep will do just fine in the field. He pushes himself back to his feet, flicking his sword once to clean anything from its edge, and calmly slides it back into his scabbard. He places his right fist into his left palm. "You obviously have a great arsenal with which to work with." He voice is much fainter than before, but is still calm. "So I must admit defeat in the face of superior force. Though I doubt many would be able to stand after receiving such a blow after a prolonged battle." He turns his head towards Outrider, inclining it to her as well. "Let this be a good lesson to what your superior officer is capable of. If you ever have any designs of replacing him, remember this day." Bludgeon slaps a hand on the simulator, resetting the holographic damage to his armor. Once the power-limiter releases its pressure on him, mimicking the massive damage he had sustained, he instantly feels better. "It isn't often I am so easily overwhelmed. If I were you, I wouldn't let it get to my head, but I wouldn't dismiss it either. A win is a win, Airlift. Well fought." It pains Bludgeon to admit, but he is not an arrogant fool. Airlift is a Decepticon, and the samurai is proud to know that they are on the same side. Respect won here can often make a difference when your life is on the line out in the field of battle, and Airlift has certainly earned Bludgeon's. Indeed, Airlift does look a tiny bit shocked, though he schools his face to impassive quickly enough as he resets his own systems to full. The Reaver hadn't shown as much damage as he himself expected to sustain from Bludgeon's assaults. "I again thank you for the chance to spar. Too long behind a desk had..worried me more than a bit.." he admits as he walks over. He offers a rare, friendly smile towards Bludgeon then as he says, "It was truly a pleasure to be able to once again utilize my claws and scythe..Blast Off is an excellent foe for a firefight training, but he is unable to stand in a melee battle.." The fusion cannon that had phased in shifts back into subspace, his own plasma cannon back on it's mount as he flexes his restored wings, settling them about his body. They fold strangely, forming an almost cloaklike covering about him as he sighs, "Alas, those duties we spoke of are calling..I'm to be on duty soon." Category:Non-TP